A Mysterious Quest 0f A Seductive Lady (Regency Historical Romance)

by Lucinda Nelson

  He was taking her to a greenhouse, where no one would look for them. There, he would keep her hostage until he got what he wanted from her husband. If necessary, he would harm her to get the information that he needed.

  “Now, where is the journal?” he demanded.

  Magnolia struggled against the ropes, so he leaned forward and pulled the gag away from her lips so she could speak.

  “You bastard!” she spat. “You killed my family! How could you do that? Then you came around to pretend you were my friend. Adam was right about you along!”

  Nicholas waited for her to finish. “Now that you have said all that is on your mind, can you now tell me where the journal is?”

  “Go to hell,” she hissed.

  Without wasting time, he struck her twice across the cheek. “I am not your husband. Do you understand? I will not hesitate to punish you if I deem it necessary. So: Tell me where the journal is. And tell me now!”

  “It is not with me,” she replied, blinking back tears.

  “Where is it?”

  “It is with my husband. If you want it, you will have to trade me for it.”

  Nicholas frowned and thought for a while. “Very well. That is exactly what I am going to do.” He stood up and pulled the gag over her mouth again.

  * * *

  Magnolia Richmond Avery, the Countess of Strickland

  They arrived at a warehouse several minutes later as the darkness had fallen. Nicholas carried Magnolia out of the carriage and set her feet down. “Can you walk, or do I have to carry you?” he demanded.

  She tried to say that she could, but the sound never came out. All she did was nod.

  Two men rushed towards Nicholas and bowed. “Is the room ready?” he demanded.

  They both nodded.

  “Good. Take her there. But do not tie her up yet.” He stayed behind, lighting a cigar while the two men each took one of her arms and led her into the house.

  Shortly afterwards, Magnolia was in a very large room. The two men pushed her over to the bed. “Please help me. Let me go,” she pleaded. “I shall pay you handsomely well. I swear it.”

  Both men glanced at each other and shook their heads. Then they left, closing the door after them.

  Magnolia stood up and began to pace, looking for any means of escape. She walked to the window but found it was locked. She also looked around for anything that might serve as some sort of weapon, but there was none.

  The door opened suddenly, causing her to jump. “Why don’t you take a seat?” Nicholas asked, pointing to a chair.

  Magnolia did as she was directed. “Why are you doing this?” she breathed, blinking back tears.

  He laughed upon hearing that. “Why am I doing this? Have you not thought about that and come up with the answer?”

  “You killed my parents. And my brother! You’re evil! Why? What did they do to you?”

  Nicholas puffed his cigar and chuckled. “Because they were meddling in a business that was none of their concern. I wish I had snapped your brother’s neck by myself. His tiny neck. He just would not stop snooping around. I sent a warning by ransacking the office, but he only continued.”

  “But you have killed them. You killed my mother as well. You had your revenge. Why come after me?”

  “I wanted to kill the entire family!” Nicholas shouted, beating his chest. “You were only lucky not to have gone to the ball with them!”

  “So, you had to pretend to be my friend?”

  “Yes! If I had not done that, how else would I have gotten close to you? To know every plan you intended on making? I thought you would be a bit wiser, and not be so naive, but…”

  Nicholas shook his head regretfully. “You are just like them, Magnolia. And you will end up just like them. You, your husband, and your entire bloodline. Make yourself feel at home here, because you will be here for as long as it takes to get those two pieces evidence. And after I have gotten them, I will kill you.”

  She shivered at the thought of her and her unborn child dying, and of what that would do to Adam.

  Just then, a knock sounded and the door opened. One of the men came with a tray in his hand which he placed on the table.

  “Go on and eat. God forbid I allow you to starve to death. Even for those I kill, I kill when they are having a good time.”

  She sniffed. “You call this a good time?”

  Nicholas laughed. “Of course. What else would it be?” He laughed some more and then left.

  Some minutes later, the door opened again, and a man came in with a jug in his hand. He walked closer to pour the contents into the cup on the tray. It was water.

  She ran to him. “Please, help me,” she begged. “My husband would give you anything –”

  The man pushed her away and opened his mouth while pointing to his tongue, which Magnolia realized was no longer there.

  She gasped and felt a sudden wave of nausea. His tongue had been cut out. “Oh, my goodness! Did he do this to you?”

  The man glared at her, closed his mouth and left.

  Magnolia quickly sat down and closed her eyes to stop herself from vomiting. Nicholas was a savage! She had to get out of here very fast, if not for herself but for the sake of her unborn child.

  Chapter 35

  Adam Avery, the Earl of Strickland

  Adam sat in the parlor with his mother, Aunt Dorothy, Richard, Caroline and the two constables. It was the second day since Magnolia’s abduction.

  “We spoke to the goldsmith that Mr. Gulliver was in contact with when he inquired about Longsheer,” Longley started. “He gave us directions to his home and when we got there, his slaves told us that he left and would not be coming back.”

  Adam stood up angrily and began pacing. “What are we going to do? We cannot just sit here and do nothing. Someone must have seen her. Is there no way to find her?”

  “We must be patient,” replied Bradbury. “Wilde would want the two pieces of evidence back. He would never risk going to prison when he knows he can get those from us. Let us be patient. He will definitely reach out.”

  While they were talking, Hartley came in, and in his hand was a letter. “From whom?” asked Adam.

  “The man only dropped the letter and ran back to where he came from, my lord,” Hartley replied.

  Everyone in the room exchanged glances. Longley stepped forward and collected the letter from Hartley, tore it open, and began to read aloud.

  “Adam. I have your wife. Bring the journal and the cufflink. If you involve constables, she will be dead before any of you know it. Take these two to the greenhouse at Lake Sharyton today by 8:00 PM. Come alone.”

  “Dear God,” Adam gasped. “You were right, Bradbury!”

  “Yes. He thinks you have not consulted the constables and that gives us the advantage. Find the greenhouse. We shall be with you at every step of the way, but we will also stay hidden and come out only once we know we can capture him. But you must save your wife first.”

  “The time is some minutes past eight right now. You should be on your way,” said Longley.

  “I am going with you,” Richard said, standing up.

  “No!” said the constables and Adam at the same time.

  “Just stay here and take care of the ladies. They are clearly very disturbed,” Adam whispered to his friend.

  Richard nodded and the two men embraced. “Get her back, Adam,” said Richard, squeezing both his arms.

  “I will. No matter what it takes.”

  Bradbury handed him an envelope. “It contains the two items.”

  “Thank you,” Adam replied, and then left.

  * * *

  Elizabeth Avery, The Dowager Countess of Strickland

  “What are we going to do?” Elizabeth asked, as her son left. “We cannot merely sit about and do nothing.”

  Longley stood up. “We are going to follow Adam right away. We do not want to be too close, else he might find out he’s brought the authorities with him.”


  Bradbury also stood up. “Have no fear. We shall get her back.”

  “Let me come with you,” Richard pleaded once more.

  “No, my lord. You are needed to control things here,” replied Bradbury.

  Richard sighed and nodded as he watched as the two men leave.

  Elizabeth turned to her friend, “Come, Dorothy. What you and I can do right now is pray.”

  Dorothy nodded. They both walked away together, leaving Richard and Caroline behind.

  * * *

  Richard Waterston, the Earl of Midhurst

  Richard glanced towards Caroline. She sat huddled up in a corner, looking clearly disturbed. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “She will be all right,” he promised.

  “What if she is not?” Caroline asked, turning to face him. “What if something happens to the baby and to her?”

  “You must not think that way,” replied Richard, standing up and walking over to sit down beside her. “I have tried searching for Mr. Gulliver but no one has seen him.”

  Caroline frowned. “You mean the goldsmith?”

  “Yes,” Richard replied. “Have you seen him since the last time you and your friend were there?”

  Caroline shook her head. “I have not gone back to his shop. Do you truly think Nicholas Wilde is responsible for this?”

  “Yes. I do. I am certain of it. But he will be caught and then that bastard will be behind bars for the rest of his life.”

  Caroline nodded. “I hope so,” she said fervently, and then stood up. “I – I – please. You must excuse me.”

  Richard watched as she left, and he sighed. He hated that there was nothing he could do.

  * * *

  Magnolia Richmond Avery, the Countess of Strickland

  Magnolia had no sleep that night, for her mind was busy thinking of how to escape. There was no way she would survive if she stayed with this evil man who had ripped out his servant’s tongue.

  She tried to think about the Nicholas she thought she knew. The one who was warm and sweet, who made her feel so comfortable that she could tell him everything.

  I was deceived!

  All those times she had told him of her plans, and he was always ahead of her, except for when Adam had stopped her from talking to him. All those times she had been so stubborn, he had only been looking after her well-being.

  Adam! Oh, my beloved Adam…you were right all along.

  Magnolia shut her eyes and sighed. If she could leave this place in one piece, she would never doubt Adam’s sincerity again and never again question him on anything.

  She remembered when Adam had asked Nicholas to leave, at that first ball when he saw them together. His instincts had been right all along.

  Taking a deep breath, she felt another rush of grief as she thought of Aunt Dorothy. Poor woman, she would be so troubled!

  The keys to the room rattled outside the door. She straightened up immediately, hoping it would be one of the servants.

  But it was not.

  “Hello, beauty,” Nicholas teased, closing the door after him. “Did you have a fine sound sleep like I did?”

  “Go to hell!” she sputtered angrily.

  He laughed. “Feisty! I like that.”

  Then he brought a chair to her bed and sat down. “Your husband should be here any minute,” he said, grinning. “Then I can take the journal and the cufflink and we can forgive each other. We shall call it a misunderstanding.”

  Magnolia was confused. Was he being sincere? Was he going to let her go instead of kill her?

  Nicholas burst into laughter all of a sudden. “I do hope you weren’t thinking I would release you,” he said. “How stupid can you be?”

  She looked away.

  “Do you know how easy it was being friends with you? It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Oh – aside having to kill your family, of course.”

  So angry was that Magnolia she spat at his face. But he kept on laughing as he wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Then he stood up and walked closer to her.

  She cringed as she saw the angry glare on his face. He pulled her up with his stiff, cold hands, digging his fingers into the flesh of her arms and then slamming her forehead with his.

  Magnolia saw a bright flash and felt a sharp pain in her head. Everything spun around her and she slumped onto the bed.

  Chapter 36

  Adam Avery, the Earl of Strickland

  Stars filled the sky like pale corn dropped into freshly turned ground. Somewhere in the distance, the yellow moon shone like a searchlight for Adam as his mount trotted down the path that led to the greenhouse.

  Adam had arrived at Lake Sharyton several minutes later and had asked around until he finally found it.

  The greenhouse stood like a lonely giant house in the center of the field. All around it was a wooden fence. There were no houses in this isolated area.

  Adam slowed his horse and looked around. In his hands was an envelope that contained James’ journal and the cufflink.

  There seemed to be no one here besides himself. There was no sign of the officers. He felt rest assured, knowing they would be somewhere close even if he couldn’t see them.

  But Adam also knew that Nicholas would be expecting him.

  He deliberated on whether to go ahead now or wait for a while to allow his friends to catch up. If he went in, how would he defend himself? And every minute spent could further put Magnolia and the baby in danger.

  He would have to be a man and protect them both.

  Taking a deep breath, he turned the horse and down the path they went, heading towards the greenhouse.

  * * *

  Magnolia Richmond Avery, the Countess of Strickland

  Magnolia shifted uncomfortably in the chair to which she was bound, hoping to slacken the ropes and gain her freedom. She had woken up some minutes ago and found herself tied up with a throbbing headache.

  There was no sign of Nicholas.

  She pulled at the ropes as stealthily as possible, for in the room with her was one of the servants – the man she had spoken with the other time. His back was turned as he worked at something and she couldn’t see what he had in his hands.

  Magnolia closed her eyes as the sense of nausea began again. Since arriving in this terrible place, she had been fighting the urge to vomit for that would make it very easy for Nicholas to discover her pregnancy.

  She looked around for anything that would help her with the ropes, but there was nothing. Even if there was a weapon, how would she get to it when her feet and hands were tightly bound?

  When she was almost at the point of giving up, Magnolia caught sight of a movement by the window.

  It was too dark to be certain of who it was, as the only form of illumination in the room was the candle by the mirror stand. But she was sure that someone was out there.

  The servant turned around, looking at her sharply as if suspecting she was up to something. Before he could speak, the door opened.

  “Good evening! Is everything all right?” Nicholas asked, walking inside.

  The man nodded.

  “Good. Did you sharpen the knives, like I asked?”

  The man nodded and picked up some things on the table. There was a gun and a knife which glinted in the candlelight. He handed them to Nicholas, who smiled proudly and patted him on the back.

  Her heart beat faster as Nicholas turned towards her with the knife in his hand.

  “Did you get to see what was written in the journal?” he asked, bending down in front of her.

  “No. I did not. James wrote it in codes. How would I understand? It was all written in codes!”

  Nicholas raised his brows. He seemed surprised. “You are saying your husband never told you he finally decoded your brother’s journals?”

  Magnolia shut her eyes and turned her head away. Adam had kept many things from her.

  “It appears you two are not quite th
e couple of the year, are you?” he said, smirking.

  She said nothing.

  “Well, Lady Strickland, it seems that your husband did decipher the codes, and I wish you had seen something in it.”

  Nicholas stood up and began to walk to and fro, though he was still grinning. “I can only imagine what he wrote there. He has always been after the man who treated his servants very badly – and even killed some.”